PFC William Henry Skerry III

courtesy of Dawn Parker

PFC William Henry Skerry III was born 10 Dec 1909 in Haverstraw, New York. He was the 6th of 7 children born to William Henry and Ann M. (Campbell) Skerry. The senior Skerry was a saloon keeper and a carpenter but by 1940 he was apparently being supported by his children and Ann had died. Young William was working in a rock quarry for the Traprock Corporation in Tomkins Cove, New York.

William was drafted in May 1942. After his basic military training he was sent to England and assigned to A Company 116th Infantry. He trained with the unit for the amphibious assault to take place on the coast of occupied France and took place in that attack. He fought the unit until wounded in sometime in July. Struck in the thigh by an artillery fragment he was evacuated to hospital and returned to the unit before the end of the month. He then continued to fight with unit until killed in action on 31 Aug 1944 in the attack on Brest.

PFC Skerry was repatriated in 1948 and re-interred in Saint Peters Cemetery in Haverstraw, New York.

Hugh J. Skerry served in the U.S. Navy as a S1c aboard the USS Merrimack (AO-37) in the Atlantic and South Pacific.